Joe Bisignano ’58 had a strong connection to Our Lady’s University from an early age, thanks to his father’s close friendship with Frank Leahy. During the 1940s, Joe and his brother regularly attended Notre Dame football games with their dad, Alphonse “Babe” Bisignano. Babe, a professional wrestler in his youth, would knock on the locker room door after each game and say, “Tell Frank Babe’s here.” To the shock of the person answering the door, they were always let in, giving young Joe the opportunity to meet Fighting Irish legends like Johnny Lujack and Leon Hart. When it came time for Joe to attend college, he asked his father where he should apply. Babe told him, “You can go to any college you want to go to. That is, after you graduate from Notre Dame.”
In the fall of 1954, Joe arrived on campus. As he later recalled, Joe only saw his father cry twice in 92 years of life—the day he left his son at Notre Dame and the day his wife, Joe’s mother, passed away.
At that time, Notre Dame was an all-male school of approximately 5,000 students with a campus roughly half its current size. Perhaps the most shocking difference between the 1950s and today is that classes were held on Saturdays—even when there was a home football game! And although the women from Saint Mary’s were able to attend Notre Dame football games, they had to sit in a different section than their male counterparts.
Joe remembers having more supervision on campus than living at home. Students were required to be in their room by 10:00 p.m. on school nights, and the lights across campus were turned out at 11:00 p.m. In addition to the rector, residence halls housed a priest on each floor. Students were not allowed cars, and a strict dress code was enforced: collared shirts, pants, and leather lace-up shoes or loafers. School dances were held on the second floor of LaFortune, but you still had to be back to your dorm by midnight.
Despite the structure of campus life, Joe was blessed with countless opportunities to witness and be formed in his Catholic faith. One year, his classmate Frank Leahy Jr. invited Joe to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Just before it was time for dinner, Frank Sr. turned off the football game and took out his rosary. Everyone knelt in prayer together. Moments like these, which he experienced throughout his time at Notre Dame, became a beacon by which Joe would navigate life. He learned to live for God, how to follow the teachings of the Gospels, how to be a good husband and father, and how to treat others with respect and dignity.
Bolstered by so many examples, Joe’s commitment to his faith remains strong. He prays to Mary as much as he prays to Jesus, knowing that Our Lady is always listening. It is a testament to his faith that Joe considers serving during Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart to be one of the most defining moments of his time as a student. Joe was very nervous that he would falter. But by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he performed his duties with no mistakes. This, Joe says, was his greatest moment at Notre Dame.
Over the years, Joe has made many generous gifts to the University as Notre Dame helped to form his beliefs and values, and gave his life a sense of meaning and direction. To ensure future generations can have similar experiences, Joe has contributed to the University in various ways, including the Joseph A. Bisignano Scholarship. As a member of the Badin Guild, his planned gifts will provide additional funding for this scholarship.
Joe’s philanthropy extends to his love of art as well. He has donated 55 prints by Mauricio Lasansky, one of the fathers of 20th-century American printmaking, from his personal collection to the University’s art museum. To celebrate this special gift, the Snite Museum of Art held a special one-of-a-kind exhibition featuring works by Lasansky and his son Tomás.
In recent years, Joe has spent his time giving back to the Des Moines community as a substitute teacher. Known to the students as Joe B., he can be found teaching an array of subjects in middle and high school.
Thank you, Joe, for sharing your wonderful Notre Dame story. Your commitment to the University’s mission is an inspiration.